The Cryptic Delphian
by Hippy Gypsy
Summary: Chapter 5 now up! The plot thickens as Severus discovers who is lurking in the shadows of London, and Tonks begins to think through Severus' proposition. Will the Cryptic Delphian soon gain a new apprentice? R&R Thanks!
1. Midnight Summons of the Grand Delphian

**The Cryptic Delphian**

**By Hippy Gypsy**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own anything by JK Rowling, but the plot is mine. This story takes place a few years after the last war with Voldemort. He died in the final battle, but so did a couple other characters. Just don't get too teary eyed when you find out who. Anyways, this is my first fic in a long time, so be kind. I guess that's it. On with the show!

**Chapter 1: The Midnight Summons of the Grand Delphian**

Severus Snape was seen as the greatest spy in all of wizarding England when the great war against Lord Voldemort had ended. Many had fought the Dark Forces, some losing their lives in the end. Those who survived mourned the lost and cherished the living. Satisfied that his place in life in general had been fulfilled with the fall of the Dark Lord, Snape faded back into society, retiring early from Potions Master of Hogwarts, and spent his days doing research in the privacy of his own manor just outside of London.

But as much as he desired to never be bothered again from the outside world, he could not deny the call of his mentor and true master: The Grand Delphian.

Few knew of his status as one of the mystical and cryptic Delphian. But unlike his role as a Death Eater, he would never be able to shake his loyalty to the line, or to the Grand Delphian, the eldest of the heirs in the line. If he was summoned, he would have to answer. Thus was always his life as a spy. So when an owl appeared to him late one evening, requesting his presence with the Headmistress of Hogwarts, Severus could hardly claim that he could take his leave for the night.

_The Grand Delphian requests an audience with Severus Snape, heir of the Cryptic Delphian, immediately_, was exactly what the letter had said. So at midnight, Snape found himself outside of the office of Minerva McGonagall, Headmistress of Hogwarts, escorting himself inside, only to find her sitting back in her chair at her desk, wide awake and quite serious.

"Severus," she said pointedly, as was her fashion. "Thank you for joining me on such short notice."

"I really had no choice, Minerva," he replied openly.

"Sit, please."

Taking his seat, he folded his cloak and placed it off to the side, noticing the portrait of Albus Dumbledore, former Headmaster of the school, now deceased, smiled knowingly down at him. Even in a memorial portrait, Snape felt that those blue eyes were once again trying to penetrate his soul. He suppressed a shiver.

"Now Minerva, would you please explain your summons?" Severus asked her without a bit of sarcasm in his voice.

She smiled and replied straight out. "It's time for your apprentice to be chosen."

"Good Lord, no." A mission he had expected from his predecessor, but not this.

"Why not?"

"Because a new generation has not yet come of age."

"Severus, you're getting old," Minerva replied bluntly and curtly, "and if you think you feel hurt, remember the fact that I was once your Transfiguration instructor." She folded her cloak closer around her and glared back at her apprentice. "For Christ's sakes! I'm the walking dead by your standard."

Snape snorted softly and rubbed his eyes. He quietly replied truthfully, "I meant no offense Minerva. What I mean is I don't think there's anyone of the new generation who could take this on and possibly survive the dangers we've encountered." He thought of a long moment and went on, "Voldemort was one thing, but we're in a class by ourselves you do realize."

"You haven't thought of anyone to be your heir?"

"No."

Minerva's eyes narrowed in concentration. "What about your nephew?" she suggested lightly.

"Tulio is merely an apprentice of Potions. Of having the Cryptic Delphians' abilities, he is not." Taking a deep breath, Snape looked at her and said, "Minerva, there is no one in my mind I can think of who would be worthy of this position."

She gave a smug smile at his troubled face. "You're lucky then. I think I know somebody who is worthy enough to join our line."

"Who, pray tell?"

She reached out for her quill that was standing on end in an ink pot. She began scribbling notes down onto a scrap piece of parchment. "She is currently an Auror in the Ministry of Magic."

_"She?"_ Snape asked, caught off-guard and thoroughly shocked.

"Yes, she," Minerva replied, without taking notice at his slight irritation. "She is well versed in understanding both the Muggle world and our own. She's young, and quite the athletic warrior from what I have seen. After the Great War ended Cornelius Fudge held her honor high in the Ministry of Magic. She's a master of disguise."

"Anybody could learn that. All it takes is the right amount and type of magic." More and more, Snape was beginning to have his doubts.

"But it comes so naturally to her," Minerva sang, ever so reminiscent of Delores Umbridge. She looked up from the parchment she was scribbling on, and the quill went off writing on it's own while she focused her entire attention on Severus. "She's a metamorphmagus."

At that word, Severus knew exactly who she meant, and in the back of his mind, a face suddenly popped out of his memories. She was younger then, by a few years. She had been in the Order of the Phoenix, and a relative of Sirius Black. He knew her right enough, and his heart began to sink as his hopes for the most renowned apprentice disappeared. "Seeing as they are rare and that there are less than twenty in England, I could only assume that you mean Nymphadora Tonks?" he asked smoothly.

"I do."

"Why her Minerva? She's clumsier than Neville Longbottom ever proved to be. What is so wondrous about her that we would invite her to join our blood line?"

Minerva smiled, knowing rightly well that the fight he was going to give her was only around the corner. She looked down at her quill and muttered, "Quill, stop!" And it instantly fell flat to her desk. She picked up her piece of parchment, and began to read from her list. "She already has Auror skills, and is trained for both worlds. From what I understand, she's athletically trained in some of the more ancient self-defense techniques, and to top it off more personally to us, she attended Hogwarts and was loyal to the Order of the Phoenix from beginning to end, meaning she would rightly be loyal to us as members of the Cryptic Delphian."

"Loyalty. You damned Gryffindors," he muttered under his breath. "You said she was held high in the Ministry though. Cornelius is as stubborn as they come. Why would he give up one of his best agents to us?"

She smiled again, in her best cat like grin. "Cornelius loves a bribe. All you would have to do is pay him off."

_"I pay him off?"_

"Yes."

His eyebrows furrowed dangerously. "And once he has his money, what will he do to ensure that we get Nymphadora to join our ranks?"

"We'll have him sack her from the Ministry," she replied matter-of-factly. "The rest is up to you in order to get her to be an heir."

"What if she refuses to join?"

"We'll cross that bridge when we get there. But I highly doubt without a job she'll pass up the chance." Minerva couldn't stop grinning to herself. She had him right where she wanted him. He was stuck, and the only thing he could do was give up and admit that she was right.

"I still don't know if I like the idea of her becoming bonded to the Cryptic Blood though," Severus said evenly, though his face was set in grim lines. Something about this girl being his heir killed him on the inside, and all he could feel was misgiving.  
"You said yourself you didn't have any other ideas for your apprentice."

"I do not."

"Then I'd say get to work." Minerva rose from her seat and looked down at her own apprentice. "Severus, trust me. Have I ever steered you wrong before?"

"There was that time when we were pursuing the gargoyles in France."

She glared at him and changed the subject dramatically. "Forget I said anything. I want your heir and apprentice trained and presented by the end of the next month."

Severus rose from his seat and he took his cloak, pulling it around him. "Fine, but you're the one who's paying off Fudge." With that, he made his way towards the study door.

"Don't shrug and sulk like it could be worse Severus. It very well could've been for you."

"How so?" he asked turning to her with a raised eyebrow.

"If Harry Potter had survived the end of the Great War, I would've chosen him as your apprentice." She grinned as a quite disgusted look came across Severus's face, and she looked to Albus Dumbledore's portrait. His blue eyes winked at her.

"Minerva, just tell me where I can find Nymphadora Tonks nowadays…"

**_Coming Soon...Chapter 2! Thanks for reading and reviewing! :D_**


	2. The Trials of Nymphadora

The Cryptic Delphian

By the Hippy Gypsy

Disclaimer: I know the beginning of this chapter is reminiscent of Men in Black, but it fits all too well, so bear with me. I own nothing. It's JK Rowling's. Anything that's mine, well, yep. Enjoy!

Chapter 2: The Trials of Nymphadora

"Hey! Hey!! HEY!!"

On the farthest side of London was where Nymphadora Tonks was for the evening, doing what she did best: Auror work. Tonight's assignment consisted of tracking down a werewolf who wasn't registered with the Ministry of Magic. He was considered dangerous, so Kingsley Shacklebolt and she were currently chasing him on foot in the middle of downtown Muggle London.

"HEY!!" she screamed again at his back, but the man wouldn't quit. He was too quick. "HEY MEANS STOP!!" she yelled again.

Kingsley finally had to stop and catch his breath, and he gasped to her, "Let 'em go Tonks. We'll get 'em another night."

But Tonks wasn't likely to listen to him, and tonight wasn't any different. She left Kingsley behind, half dead from having no air left in his lungs, and she pursued the unregistered werewolf into the night alone.

Another block down, she chased him into an alley, and their culprit discovered it was quite dark. In fact, he didn't even notice that she had disapparated and re-apparated right in front of him until she had him pushed up against the wall of the alley, his hands being held behind his back. Tonks held him and she pulled out her badge and shoved it in his face. "You see this?!" she yelled. "I'm a Ministry of Magic Auror! That means I will bust your non-registered werewolf ass down! You're not tagged and marked! Do you have any idea how dangerous that is?! You don't even take the proper potions to control it do you?!"

The man, however, continued to struggle, ignoring everything she said. "He's coming!" he pleaded. "He's coming! For me! He's gonna make the Third Trial of Darkness come!"

"Yeah," Tonks replied half listening, trying to get the werewolf tag ready. "And when he gets here I'll bust his ass too."

But in the next moment, the culprit whipped around and gave Tonks a swift punch in the face, giving him just the split second he needed to disapparate. With a growl of frustration, Tonks ran back to the end of the alley to see Kingsley running by, yelling, "I just saw him! He apparated and turned the next left corner!"

Tonks then apparated to the other end of the street, waiting for their culprit to come running from the other end. Ready to catch him off guard, she closed her eyes and transformed her spiky pink hair into it's natural form of a long sheet of raven black and brown eyes. Sure enough, the next moment, their culprit showed up. He had slowed down his pace, sure that he had shaken his pursuers from his tail. Shoving his hands in his jacket pockets, he gave no notice to Tonks in her new form walking by, until in one swift movement she kicked him down to his knees and wrapped one of her arms around his neck. With her other arm, she reached under the back of her jacket and pulled out a Muggle pistol. She placed the nose of it right over the culprit's heart, and cocked back the hammer.

"Do you know what kind of bullets I have in here?" she said calmly.

"Silver ones?" he asked, his voice trembling ever so slightly.

"That's right. Will you come quietly?"

"Now I will," he answered. And he grabbed the gun and pulled the trigger, sending the silver bullet straight through his heart and right into the left side of Tonks' stomach.

She dropped the man instantly, knowing he was dead and grabbed her side, stumbling to the ground. She caught her breath and tried to breathe through the shock of it all, but her vision began to blur. The last thing she heard before she passed out was Kingsley's voice above her.

* * *

"Nymphadora?" she heard above her. "Nymphadora…c'mon Tonks. You know you want to wake up."

Slowly, Tonks retuned to consciousness and quietly opened her eyes to see a familiar face smiling down at her. He had grown up in so many ways in a short amount of time, from his shyness turning to boldness, to the fact that his face had finally lost all of its baby fat and a confident, handsome face replaced where a trembling lip had once been.

Once her eyes were wide open, the doctor asked, "Tonks, do you know where you are?"

She nodded and replied in a harsh, raspy voice, "Yes Dr. Longbottom."

Neville nodded and said, "That'll do. Want to sit up?"

"Sure," she replied trying to clear her throat, but to no avail. Neville passed her a glass of water and she took it with a breathed, "Thanks."

Neville rose to grab Tonks' charts and said, "You know, if you keep finding yourself in the hospital wing of the Ministry, your insurance is going to sky rocket." He looked up at her as she adjusted her pillow behind her and took a great gulp of water.

"Yeah, but usually I just get treated for bumps and bruises. I got shot this time." It was then that she felt the slight pang of pain in her side. She lifted the blanket of her bed and nightshirt to see that her stomach had been fully repaired, save for a scar where the bullet had entered, and a slight throbbing pain in her side.

Neville came back to her side with a white gauzy patch smeared with a thick potion and taped it to her side gently, right over the scar. "Keep this on it. It'll fight the pain." He stood up again and smiled. "You should be fully recovered by tonight."

"How long was I out?" Tonks asked, suddenly concerned with the time.  
Neville's face sobered up, and he replied, "About thirteen hours. You scared the hell out of everyone." He blinked a moment and added as an afterthought, "And Fudge is pissed."

"Doesn't surprise me," she replied. "The guy I was after killed himself on my pursuit."

Neville's face took on a queasy look. "Sounds like it's going to be a good day at the office."

"Where's Kingsley?"

"Back at his desk I believe. He came back to check on your about an hour ago, but once he realized you were no longer near death, he figured he was better needed elsewhere."

She nodded knowingly and gave a partial smile. "Nothing to do but watch me sleep anyways." She took and breath and said, "Alright. I better head back to work then. Anything else Dr. Longbottom?"

"Just sign yourself out," Neville replied handing her the chart. She signed at the bottom and he said, "I'll send in the nurse to clean up once you're changed." With one last smile, he said, "Have a good one Tonks."

"Thanks for saving my life Neville," she replied with affection in her voice.

His back retreated through the door, and she rose from the bed to change. The white blouse she had worn the night before was covered with blood, but she merely buckled her jacket over it, knowing she could head home as soon as she had the business end of her current situation sorted out. Besides, it was Friday, and no one would blame her for leaving early, given her hospital stay.

She left the hospital wing and headed back towards her office, taking the elevator from level three, Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes, to level two, Department of Magical Law Enforcement. It took her longer than expected to reach her destination, with people giving her warm greetings left and right. At one point, Hermione Granger ran out of her cubicle. "Tonks! Are you alright?" Her voice was shaking slightly.

"I'm just fine," Tonks replied with a full smile. When Hermione didn't seem convinced at first, she went on, "Bullet went right into my stomach. But good ol' Dr. Longbottom patched me up, no problem." She winked. "Heard the whole place was worried though."

"Of course we were!" Hermione breathed, trying to figure out if Tonks had wondered any less.

"Don't worry hun. I'm just fine. But I'm gonna head home early. Just use the Floo Network to get back to Grimmauld Place tonight, okay?"

"Alright. I'll see you later. Glad you're okay."

Tonks left her with a smile and opened the door to her and Kingsley's office. He was sitting behind his desk, and he looked up with a sly smile. "Didn't I tell you to leave that guy?"

"Is that the way you greet your partner?" she replied with a raised eyebrow.

Kingsley chuckled and said, "Welcome back to reality Tonks."

She sat behind her desk and put her feet up. Letting out a sigh, she felt her side slightly throb once again under its gauze patch. "I never expected that guy to do that. I was just trying to tag him and bring him in."

"We know." He placed his quill back in its ink well, and leaned back in his chair. "It was odd though. When the body was examined, he had strange markings all over his back."

"Well he was a werewolf. He probably scratched himself."

"No werewolf I've seen had scratches like this." His thin eyebrows raised high on his completely bald head.

Tonks looked confused. "What was so special about them?"

"They were in the shape of the Death Eater's skull."

She blinked in surprise. _"What?"_

A knock on the door interrupted them from their conversation. Cornelius Fudge opened the door and let himself in, bowler hat in hand.

"Minister Fudge," Tonks greeted with a light nod.  
Fudge, however, was hardly in high spirits. His face was set in sharp, grim lines, and he glared at Tonks at the first instant. "Miss Tonks," he said in a harsh voice. "Care to explain what happened out there last night?"

Knowing she was in trouble, Tonks took her feet from off her desk and stood up at attention, almost as a soldier would in an army. Clearing her throat pointedly, she said, "Minister, last night when attempting to tag and bring in an unregistered werewolf, the man committed suicide, killing himself in the Muggle streets of London. I was wounded in the process, but am fully recovered according to Dr. Longbottom in the Magical Accidents ward."

Fudge pursed his lips and continued without a beat. "Have you heard what we found on the corpse of the body?"

"I have heard that an etching of the Dark Mark was put into the deceased suspect's back."

"Do you know what this means?"

"Possibly a former Death Eater sir," she replied, misgiving coming over her.

"That's right." Fudge glared at her, and with the slightest twitch of his eyes in Kingsley's direction, he dared either one of them to interrupt his rant. "The man possibly could have been a former alley to the Dark Lord. Or he could have been a different type of offender. But we'll never know, Miss Tonks, because by your foolishness, he is now dead." His voice was overriding her, set on putting all blame on her back.

"But Minister," Tonks interjected, "I followed Ministry procedure in the situation. It was he who pulled the trigger and-"

"Silence." He took a breath and continued, "Miss Tonks, since you have begun working for the Ministry of Magic, your work has been shoddy-"

"Shoddy? What?"

"And your demeanor towards you tasks has been none short of clumsy."

"Clumsy?!" she voiced in shock and exasperation. Everyone knew that Tonks was a dead klutz, but no one had attempted to hold it against her until now. She looked straight into Fudge's eyes and replied strongly, "Sir, I have done nothing but give my best work to the Ministry of Magic since the day I started here. Countless times I have put my neck on the line for this place."

"And never once has it been cut."

Tonks jumped back at the comment and even Kingsley looked rather shaken by the statement. "And what is that supposed to mean, Minister Fudge?" she snapped back.

"It means that because of your indiscretion last night and your problematic work tactics I will no longer hold you in my responsibility."

"Excuse me?!"

_"You're fired, Nymphadora Tonks!"_

She stood in place, rage just threatening to boil over the edge, while the other half of her wanted to do nothing but slump to the floor in frustration. "But…" She barely found words to escape her. "Who…who will-"

"Hermione Granger will take your post in this office starting Monday. Clean out your desk, Miss Tonks. I will escort you out."

Unable to believe what Cornelius Fudge was doing to her, Tonks stole a glance at Kingsley, who could do nothing but exchange shocked looks between her and his boss. Tonks was not taking this well, and rightly so. Kingsley knew she did good work and she wouldn't have performed an action unless it was right. She followed Ministry guidelines while attempting to bring the suspect in, and because the suspect killed himself, she was now paying for his choices. Something was up. People didn't just get fired for following the rules.

"Sir," Kingsley spoke up. "You don't suspect Tonks for foul play do you?"

"Silence Mr. Shacklebolt," Fudge spat turning in his direction. "And no I don't. Nymphadora's dismissal is of her own affair." Turning back to Tonks, Fudge lowered his voice dangerously. _"Miss Tonks, clean out your desk."_

Not knowing what else to do at that point, Tonks walked over to the coat closet in the corner of the office and opened it, taking an old green backpack from the inside. Taking her wand from her jacket pocket, she pointed it at the pictures that were stuck up on the wall, and the two spare cloaks that were hanging neatly in place. _"Minutize," _she said sharply. All the pictures shrank to the size of stamps, and the cloaks folded themselves neatly into little bunches, about the sizes of a toddler's. Pointing her want to the inside of her pack, she said, _"Accio." _The objects flew in.

She repeated the two spells at her desk drawers and book shelves, and pocket sized editions of her reference books flew into the bag, along with toothpick sized scrolls, and pawn sized bottles of ink. Once all was cleared, Tonks threw the bag over her shoulder and did something she knew that would make Fudge angrier than he already was.

She reached out and shook Kingsley's hand. "Good luck working for the man," she said steadily.

Fudge glared. "That's enough. Are you quite finished Miss Tonks?"

_"Yes, Minister Fudge," _she replied, almost threateningly.

Without wasting another moment, Fudge swept Tonks from the office and they walked past cubicles. People's heads poked out to see what all the commotion had been. Tonks caught Hermione's eye for a split second to see an eyebrow of confusion raised. But Fudge answered no inquiries that were asked of him. He merely escorted Tonks to the front desk.

When they had made it there, she was forced to give up her Auror's badge. She did it reluctantly.

"Good day, Miss Tonks," said Fudge, turning to leave in a huffed rush.

Tonks watched his back for a slight moment, but when she turned to leave, she passed by a large painting of her former boss, that read with a plaque:

Cornelius Fudge

Minister of Magic

As her way of a last send off, Tonks took her wand once again, and as she passed the portrait, she pushed the tip into the canvas, and made a large scratch across the entire surface, ripping it right across Fudge's neck.

The security wizard and Cornelius yelled at her back, but instead of answering, Tonks merely stepped onto the elevator and pressed the button for the street above.

"How appropriate, Nymphadora," Fudge muttered dangerously.

As the lift began to rise towards the ceiling, Tonks extended the middle digit of her left hand and replied, "My name is **_Tonks_**."

As soon she was out of sight, Cornelius Fudge turned to the security wizard and said, "Send somebody to repair the canvas." Up on the wall, the Fudge present in the painting seemed to be gasping for breath, as if its mouth were not connected to it's lungs. The security wizard sent off a paper airplane with a message to the janitor, and it rose into the air, flapping wildly to stay in flight. It took off towards the same elevator that Tonks had exited in, and as soon as the gate open, it fluttered inside.

A single person stepped off onto the landing from the elevator car. He was about seventeen years of age, dressed completely in black, from blouse, to trousers, to shoes. His long, dark hair was tied back at the nape of his neck, and the way he walked seemed to be as smooth as ice.

He strode up to the security wizard at the front desk and asked in a slight accent, "Excuse me sir?"

The security wizard looked up at the young man. "May I help you son?"

"I'm hoping sir. I'm here to deliver a message from my master." He reached into his pocket and took out a small, green envelope. "Would you see to it that this message gets mailed to this person? I do believe she is an Auror employed by Minister Fudge."

The security wizard nodded and replied, "It won't be a problem at all."

"My most humble thanks," the man replied, and just as smoothly as he arrived, he strolled back to the elevator and was gone.

The security wizard looked down at the envelope and found who it was addressed to:

Miss Nymphadora Tonks

* * *

Meanwhile, up in his office, Cornelius Fudge sat back down to his desk to find that the mail had been delivered right on time. Seeing that a message had come from Gringotts, he unraveled the scroll to read. It was a bank transaction record, a transfer to be exact. A sum of 1,500 Galleons was transferred from the account of Minerva McGonagall's into his own.

Taking his quill, he wrote out onto the other side of the scroll the following:

Thank you for keeping your end of the bargain. I had no trouble keeping mine.

Sincerely,

Cornelius Fudge

Minister of Magic

* * *

Tonks did not go directly home. As soon as the elevator had reached the street above, she made a bee line for her car: a black, American Ford Explorer. Secretly, she dreamed of a red Aston Martin, but with her salary being cut short by lack of employment, she highly doubted that she would be able to afford it anytime soon. To keep up their profiles of Muggles in some ways, Tonks and Hermione rode together from their home of Number Twelve Grimmauld Place everyday to work. But today, Hermione would have to find some other way to get home. More than likely, she would just use the Floo Network.

Tonks was far too upset to go home at the moment. Despite the state of her clothes, health, and emotions, all she wanted to do was drive. She needed to get away from London, if just for a few hours. Her nerves were rattled, and she needed peace. She pulled out of the parking lot in a rush, and drove for two hours, down a particular stretch of road she distinctly knew would eventually end at a cemetery.

Slowly pulling over, she parked the car in a particular row of high grave stones. It took her a few minutes to find the stone she wanted. It had been a good year since she had visited, but as soon as she found the one she desired, she sighed with relief.

Harry James Potter

July 31, 1980-June 7, 1998

The Boy Who Lived

Just below the inscription, there was a little marking of a lightning bolt, ever so reminiscent of the boy's scar.

Tonks kneeled down next to the grave stone and pulled out her wand. The tip lightly began to glow a dim orange, and when she blew on it, the little ball of glow floated down and rested right in front of the grave, as if it were a small memorial candle. Satisfied with her work, she sat back on her heels and let out a small sigh.

She turned around to make sure she was alone, and as soon as she knew she was, she began to talk to the grave stone.

"You have no idea how much we all miss you kid," she whispered, a slight tremble in her voice. "I really wish you or Sirius were still alive." Tears began to fall from her eyes as she tried to get out her last statement. "I could…_really_ use someone to talk to right now."

Not knowing what else to do, Tonks knelt there, and for the first time in a long while, she indulged in what she thought was a guilty pleasure.

She cried.

Note from the author: Hey y'all! I hope to get some more readers soon! Thanks to all those who did review! I'm working hard on this while I'm ignoring my psych class, so show me that it's worth it! Chapter 3 coming soon! Peace out my peeps! :-D


	3. Residence in the House of Black

The Cryptic Delphian

By the Hippy Gypsy

Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns it all. I just screw around with it. Sorry it took longer for this chapter to get up and running. There was a lot of details I needed to work out for this chapter to flow. Anyways, hope you have fun with it!

Chapter 3: Residence in the House of Black

Tonks made it back to Number Twelve Grimmauld Place at about eight o'clock that evening, feeling physically and emotionally drained. She was also quite hungry, having not eaten all day, save for the glass of water back in Neville's office. She needed to eat, knowing lack of food in her stomach could not be good for her healing ailment. So before she pulled up and parked in front of Number Twelve, she stopped and bought dinner, consisting of enough pizza to feed her and all of her housemates.

Shutting the door behind her and crossing the threshold, she looked up to the wall, not to see the banshee like stare of old Mrs. Black, but instead three smaller portraits. The largest of the three was of Sirius Black, looking as young and handsome as he ever did at the peak of his life. Above the portrait hung a great gold plaque:

The Great and Ancient House of Black

Our Founder

The two smaller portraits below Sirius were of Harry Potter and his father, James. Their plaque read "Honorable Mention." Balancing the three pizzas, hoping against hope that she wouldn't drop them in a fit of clumsiness along with her backpack, she looked up to the portraits to see the one of Harry smile widely at her.

Tonks walked across the hallway and pushed the kitchen door open to find all of her housemates (Remus Lupin, Fred and George Weasley, and Hermione) and Kingsley sitting at the table, more than likely waiting for her return. "Wotcher!" she said, putting on her best smile for the moment. "I come bearing gifts!" She displayed the pizzas with a grand gesture.

Fred and George were the first to speak.

"Oi Tonks!"

"There you are!"

"We were starting to get worried."

"Just disappearing like that."

"How could you?"

"Hermione got scared."

"Remus began to pace."

Before either Remus or Hermione could get in a world between the twins, they looked up and snapped at them, "Hey!"

"Right!" the twins carried on.

"So sorry."

"Forgiveness please!"

"Let's get dinner." And with that they both were up, Fred taking the pizzas and running to the pantry to grab a load of butterbeers, and George taking her pack from her shoulder and jacket once she had unbuttoned it.

Her blouse that was still covered in blood was revealed, making Remus look shocked in a right state. "Good Lord! Look at you! How much blood did you lose?"

Tonks unbuckled her belt where she kept her pistols with the silver bullets. She quickly thought to herself _am I going to need these now that I'm not chasing rogue werewolves for the Ministry? _She tapped them with her wand, muttering, "_Evaco_," and sending them to her room right off, not giving it another thought for the night. She looked up at Remus and replied, "I'm alright. That's all from last night. My wounds nearly all healed now."

"What happened today?" Hermione asked with an eyebrow raised. "One minute, Fudge is escorting you out of the Ministry, and the next he come up to me informing me I'm being promoted to your vacant position."

"Kingsley told us you were sacked," Remus said. "Is this true?"

Tonks took a seat next to him at the table. "Have you known Kingsley to be a liar? Of course it's true." She sighed, looking around at all of them as Fred and George took their seats again. "Fudge sacked me."

"It was uncalled for," Kingsley spoke up for the first time since her arrival. "It's not right. Something's up I think."

"I wouldn't doubt it." Tonks took a deep sigh, and remembering how hungry she was, grabbed one of the butterbeers and popped the cap off. Seeing it as a signal for everyone to dig in, Hermione took one of the pizza boxes and began to pass around plates.

Tonks made every effort to steer the conversation away from the events of her day, and soon they all were conversing about the up-coming Chudley Cannons game. Ron Weasley had earned a position as the reserve keeper a year and a half before, and with the injury of two players the previous game, he was guaranteed time out in the field in the upcoming match. Hermione, Fred and George were going to be leaving Grimmauld Place for a week within the next few days to see him play. Through the meal, Remus and Hermione kept shooting concerned glances towards Tonks' way. She knew they wanted to ask her where she disappeared to all day, but they would save it for later when she was calmer and in private. They all just kept discussing quidditch.

"Oh Tonks," Kingsley suddenly spoke up. He pulled out a green envelope and tossed it across the table to her. "This came for you after you left. I opened it though to check it, just in case it contained some repercussions of last night. No dice though."

"What is it?" she asked pulling the message out of the previously opened envelope.

"Actually, all it is is an address. I didn't know the location. Maybe it'll make sense to you."

She took out the message, and sure enough, all that was written was an address, in neat, but loopy writing:

1313 Backwine Court, Kent

Her eyebrows knitted in confusion, and she flipped the message over to see if there was anymore writing, but there was none.

Remus looked up, catching her expression, and asked, "Is the residence familiar to you?"

"Yeah," she replied, quite unsure of what to make of the situation. She turned the address around, displaying it to everyone at the table.

"It's Snape Manor."

* * *

Hours later, full of food, showered, and dressed in her pair of snitch pajama bottoms and her Weird Sisters t-shirt, Tonks was sprawled on top of her bed, hugging her pillow to her side. The pain returned slightly from her wound, and the rest of the day caught up with her, making her feel incredibly over tired.

Remus and Hermione joined her, sorting through her books and pictures that she had cleaned out from her office. One of Remus' jazz records was playing in the corner and he softly hummed to the music while returning her reference books to their normal size and stacking them back on her bookshelf, although it was certainly taking him a while. Every other book he picked up, he flipped through, reading different passages. He was especially interested in Tonks' editions of _A Beginners Guide to Werewolf Tracking _and _Potions for Dummies._

Hermione sat on the edge of the bed, sorting through the photos, smiling at some, frowning sadly at others. "So what are you going to do now?" she asked, passing Tonks a picture of Remus holding a birthday cake that was covered with such a multitude of candles, that it was almost considered a flaming torch. It had been his thirty-fifth birthday the year before. "For a job, I mean."

"Haven't a clue," Tonks answered truthfully.

She handed the photo to Remus, who gave a wry smile at his own visage staring back at him. He tossed it back onto the bed. "You could always become an independent Auror," he stated. "That's what Mad Eye did."

"Yeah," she replied looking up at him in a half serious, half shocked manner. "And the last time he did that, he got kidnapped and locked in a bloody trunk for nine months. No thanks. I'd rather not draw anymore attention to myself."

Hermione passed over another picture, and she found that it was of her and Charlie Weasley dancing in front of Hogwarts castle in graduation robes. "I didn't realize you and Charlie knew each other at school."

"Knew him? We dated our seventh year," Tonks said with a sly smile. "We might've stayed together, but he left for Romania, and I started my Auror training. Good dancer though."

"Ah, but not like our Remus," Hermione said, looking up with a smile, and without missing a beat, he had taking her hand and began to lead her around the room to the music.

Tonks smiled and laughed. "Remus, you should have been born in the twenties. They had an abundance of chocolate, champagne, and music. It would've been the perfect fitting for you."

"I know, go figure," he replied as Hermione sat back down with a smile and resumed picking through the photographs. "Care for a dance?" he asked Tonks holding out his hands and motioning grandly to the record player.

She repressed her giggles and instead replied with yet another smile. "Remus, I got shot yesterday, and considering the other factors of the past twenty four hours, I'm not particularly in a dancing mood for the moment."

"You owe me then."

"I always owe you."

He winked at her, and turned to look at Hermione, but she didn't notice. She was looking steadily down at another picture, a very somber look upon her face. She almost looked ill. "Hermione, what is it?" Remus asked with concern.

Hermione turned the picture she was holding around. It was of Harry and Sirius at Christmas time.

"That was Sirius' last Christmas here," Remus sighed, though he voice and face was very steady.

"That was his _only_ Christmas here," Tonks corrected.

Hermione put the picture back down in her lap. "I still can't believe it's been five years," she sighed. She turned to look at her two companions. "Is it natural for me to still mourn him like this? I mean, I know it's been a while, but…" She shook her head slightly. "I miss him so much nowadays. Since Ron's gone off and joined the Cannons, this has seriously been the first time I've been on my own without them in the wizarding side of the world…it's rather unnerving."

Remus sat down on the bed between her and Tonks. "It's understandable. It was a huge event for any of us. I think it's a safe assumption that we're all still mourning."

"I went to visit his grave today," Tonks suddenly interjected. She hugged her pillow closer to her and looked down at the floor. She was uncomfortable discussing these problems, at least for the moment. Too much emotion had come over her in one day, and all she wanted to do was leave it alone.

Remus turned back to her and raised an eyebrow. "So that's where you've been all day?"

"Yeah, for the most part."

Hermione and Remus exchanged a quick look and she asked, "Where else did you go?"

Tonks gave the smallest of smiles and turned around. She pulled back her black hair and pulled down her shirt at the back of her neck, revealing a new tattoo. In between her shoulders were two dark footprints of a dog, underneath which was a script reading _Padfoot_.

Remus chuckled. "You finally got it done."

Tonks nodded. "I had the itch to get another one. Figured it'd be a nice memorial."

"But why a tattoo?" Hermione asked with her eyebrow raised. Clearly, she thought tattoos were a bit below Tonks' demeanor.

"Sirius had a ton of them," was her reply.

Remus nodded. "When he left Hogwarts and separated from his mother, Sirius went all out and did what he wanted. He let his hair grow out, got the tattoos, bought a motorcycle-"

"A motorcycle?"

"Yep. Actually, I wonder what happened to that old thing. Last I heard, Hagrid had it. I'll have to ask him about it. Anyways, he loved that thing. I remember this one time he…"

Leaning back against her pillows, Tonks let herself relax to Remus' voice as he told them a story of how Sirius had taken the flying bike to a Muggle bar and had bet five men that he could take the bike and jump twenty cars with it, without a scratch. Naturally, since they knew no better, they took the bet and ended up paying him a significant sum of money in the end. Tonks merely smiled and let herself be lolled to sleep, listening to the voices above her. The cool night air from her open window added to her relaxation, and not too long later, she was dreaming.

Becoming aware she had fallen asleep, Remus finished putting away the books and Hermione neatly stacked the leftover photos on her nightstand. A crease came in her eyebrow as she observed her wand lying next to her belt holding her two pistols. "Those have silver bullets don't they?" she whispered.

"Yes," Remus answered her. "A good amount of her time at the Ministry was spent tracking rogue werewolves. There's not a lot of spells that'll stop one who isn't controlled. A silver bullet in the heart is…well, a guaranteed safety."

"But doesn't it…make you nervous?"

Remus shook his head. "She's got a charm on those things so that she is the only one who can use them. I highly doubt she'd shoot at me, let alone any one of us." He smiled. "Don't let it worry you Hermione. Tonks knows what she's doing."

Hermione gave a small smile and turned down the lamp on her nightstand. Once she turned the record player off, she left the room.

Remus stayed behind for a moment and looked down at Tonks, his brow furrowed in the dim amount of light coming from the hallway. _She could have died last night_, he thought to himself. _We could have lost her. _He suppressed a shiver and instead, absentmindedly grabbed the quilt at the foot of her bed and covered her in it. Walking to the door, he whispered, "Sweet dreams," and shut it silently behind him.

Tonks slept peacefully the whole night and no thought of her summons to Snape Manor came into her head.

* * *

Nymphadora Tonks made no effort to exert herself the next day. Recalling how grim the previous twenty four hours had been, she decided to make the most of her newly acquired time off. At least for the time being.

The morning consisted of breakfast at a café down the street with Remus and Hermione. After which, Hermione and Tonks took the Explorer into downtown to take in a movie. The evening was spent with her housemates in the parlor of the House of Black playing cards. Fred and George had both lost a significant amount of knuts and sickles playing Texas Hold 'Em. "I don't get it anyways," Fred interjected. "Where is Texas, and why the bloody hell would I want to hold them up?"

At one a.m., Tonks was sitting on the roof of old Number Twelve, nursing a beer. The sky was clear that night, and a thin crescent moon hung in place, having no effect on Remus when he came up to join her.

When Sirius had passed away, he had left his old house in the care of Remus to give to Harry when he was old enough. But Harry had given his life in the final victory over Voldemort, so instead, seeing as they were the closest thing to family that Sirius had, Remus and Tonks took joint possession of the house. They had taken care of the place as best as they could, fixing it up in honor of the Order of the Phoenix, and their fallen loved ones. Different members of the old Order were always moving in and out of the place, but for the moment, Remus, Tonks, Hermione, and the twins called the place their home without a hint of sarcasm in their voice.

Remus climbed out of the window and onto the portion of roof that stuck out below it. "You alright?" he asked casually, sitting next to her.

"I'm okay," she answered with a affirmative nod of her head.

"So what are you going to do tomorrow? Have you even thought of answering Severus' summons, if that's what it even was?"

Tonks sighed and began to peel the label off her beer bottle. "I really haven't thought about Snape's letter at all. I'll probably just ignore it and suffer whatever consequences he decides to send at me for it." Remus chuckled and she went on. "No. I'll probably start my job hunt tomorrow I guess. Maybe I could find a place testing security wards. I could do that."

"Maybe."

She took a sip of beer and sighed. "Another part of me is tempted to leave you the deed to the house entirely and apply in the French Ministry of Magic."

Remus looked up in surprise. "What? No. You can't just up and leave us here."

"A girl's gotta work Remus," she replied shrugging her shoulders. "I hate sitting here feeling useless."

Remus nodded in agreement, when a thought suddenly struck him. "Yes, but…there's one big thing you're forgetting."

"What's that?"

_"You can't speak French Tonks."_

"A minor detail," she said with a wink of her eye. She went on truthfully, "I don't know Remus. I just feel kind of exhausted by the whole thing for the moment. I mean, that job was my life. I felt like I was making a difference. Now I'm back to square one, like after Hogwarts my seventh year. Unfortunately, there's no path planned out for me this time. I'm stuck at a split in the road with no map, and no compass."

"You have your heath though, right?" Remus asked softly, watching her intently.

"Yeah," she replied after a drink. "But I had always said I would give my life for the good of the common world. Two nights ago, I was shot, and I almost died, fulfilling my vow." She let out a long, low breath. "And I lost my job for it."

Remus didn't know how to reply, so he looked down at his hands, a guilty, yet thoughtful look upon his face. He opened his mouth for the smallest second, and shut it again, taking back what he was about to say. Unfortunately, Tonks had heard his breath and looked at him, catching the expression upon his tired face. After a few more moments of silence, Tonks asked softly, "What is it Remus?"

He took a deep breath and looked as if he were bracing himself for a swift and hard blow. "Fred and George weren't lying last night. I did begin to pace." His words were steady, but there was the sound of slight terror in his voice as he opened up to her. Every few words, he paused to take a breath. "When I heard you were unconscious in the hospital…_bleeding_…I did nothing but pace in the kitchen for hours on end." He shuddered at the thought. "I wanted to go to you, but given that the situation involved a werewolf shooting, and I being what I am…I stayed put here." He looked up at her, meeting her eyes and not taking the chance to look anyplace else. "I'm not saying I've lost more than most, because I haven't. But I have lost a lot in my life. Sirius, Harry…Lily and James…Dumbledore, and there's times where I even consider Peter a loss." Here, he took a great breath, not sure of what to make of his next statement. "But then I almost lost you too…and _it scared me_. I thought about not being able to dance around the kitchen with you to the jazz records, or wondering what style your hair would be every morning when you came down to breakfast before work…" He gave the slightest of chuckles. "Or even hear you trip over that damn umbrella stand in the entrance hall…_I was down right terrified, Nymphadora_." He made a gesture that seemed to include everyone in Grimmauld Place. "I don't want to lose them, and I most especially don't want to lose you." He once again assumed the position of looking at his hands in guilt. "I guess what I'm saying is I'm kind of glad you're not working the field of the Ministry anymore. Now I won't lose you."

Tonks couldn't believe her ears, but by no means was she angry with Remus. She had listened intently and knew that like always, there was an underlying meaning in his words. She had never known he had considered her this close to him. It almost seemed like forbidden territory to her, since he was always the straight forward one of the bunch, who stayed strong in the times of terror. Never had he showed this much anxiety and emotion to her. Not like this. Knowing that the subject was a delicate one, Tonks took a steady breath and looked at him, a slight light glowing in her eyes.

"Remus," she said quietly, her eyebrows furrowed. "Do you have feelings for me?"

Remus continued looking at his hands, not daring to give her an answer. Finally, after a long enough moment, he rose to his feet and whispered softly, "Goodnight Nymphadora." He walked back towards the window that served as the roof's entrance.

"Remus," Tonks called to him, thought and concern in her voice. "Remus, please come talk to me…Remus?"

But he didn't turn around or answer her.

Tonks took another sip of her drink and resumed staring at the sky, her eyes once again falling upon the crescent moon. _In less than two weeks, it'll be full, _she thought to herself. _I wish I knew how he could stand it every month. Poor guy. I wish it could be easier for him. I do care, but do I…_

Before she could finish her thought, she stopped herself, drained the rest of her beer, and climbed to the window, heading for bed.

Note from the Hippy Gypsy: The action begins next chapter, PROMISE! Anyways, something about this chapter still bugs me. Something still doesn't seem right. Oh well. Read and review! Hope you're enjoying it so far…

PS For those who do want to know, there is a bit of romance in this fic. But who will win the heart of the Nymph? Could it be Remus? Or possibly someone else? Bum bum BUM!!


	4. Late Night Intrusion

The Cryptic Delphian

By the Hippy Gypsy

Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns it all! I just own Tulio, who is one fine Spanish piece of A! So hands off! Anyways, short chapter, but I hope you enjoy it just the same.

Special thanks to Morrolan, eaterofdeath, and hunni07 for your reviews! They are much appreciated! Hope you keep on reading as I update…

PS…Morrolan is a Dumb Old Dork! [winks, gives big grin]

Chapter 4: Late Night Intrusion

Eventually that night, once her mind had stopped racing with thoughts of gunshots, old photographs, and Remus, Tonks fell into a very deep sleep, with her wand and two pistols by her side on top of her nightstand.

But at four a.m. she awoke from her sleep, keeping absolutely still, yet fully alert. An overwhelming feeling had over taken her. _Somebody's in my room right now,_ she thought dangerously to herself. _Someone who shouldn't be here. _Making sure her hand was slow and steady, and sure not to disturb whoever it was quietly roaming her room behind her, she reached out for her wand and pistols.

Her heart sank a million miles into her chest when she found they weren't there.

"Looking for these?" came a deep voice from behind her.

Giving a sharp, audible gasp, she flipped around in her bed as the voice above her whispered, _"Lumos!"_

The form of Severus Snape became illuminated all around her room. He was sitting in a whicker chair that she kept in the corner by her bookcase, his legs crossed and his expression meaningless. In one hand, he held her wand, his own in the other. Her belt with the two pistols and silver bullets laid across one of the chairs arms. Tonks began to breathe heavily, half in relief, the other half in blatant frustration. She gave the former Potions Master a menacing glare.

_"Why the hell are you in my room?" _she quickly snapped.

"Why the hell didn't you answer my summons?" he retorted smoothly.

Not in the mood at this early in the morning, after being scared close to death, with her weapons out of reach, she sneered back, "Look, I don't know if you've heard, but the past few days have royally _sucked_ for me. The last thing I wanted for the moment was dealing with you."

"Ah, yes," Snape went on. "You're now an _EX_ Auror to the Ministry. Did you ever figured out _why_ Fudge fired you?"

Wide awake and her mind going mile for mile, she automatically made the connection to his words and her blood began to over boil, instead of just simmer.

"You had something to do with that, didn't you?" she growled at him through gritted teeth.

Snape changed the subject abruptly and gave a sly smile. "What do you know about the Cryptic Delphian?"

Tonks shook her head in confusion. "W-what?"

Snape stood up from the chair, taking a couple of steps towards her bed. "I have a proposition for you. Now tell me, what do you know about the Cryptic Delphian?"

Blinking a moment in the dark, Tonks leaned over to her beside and switched on her lamp. Her expression sobered, and she eyed Severus in confusion. "You mean the _myth_ of the Cryptic Delphian?"

"The _reality_ of the Cryptic Delphian," he replied. He put the light out on his wand and replaced it in his pocket, instead producing a small scroll from inside his robes.

Tonks looked at him in bewilderment. "You're not getting at they're real…are you?" He eyebrows were raised as far as they would go. Severus merely tossed her the scroll in his hands. Picking it up and unrolling it, she quickly scanned it's short contents:

**The Cryptic Delphian**

By invitation of the Grand Delphian and the blood heirs of the Cryptic apprentices, you are invited to join in the line of the Great and Mystical Cryptic Delphian, earning thereafter, all of its rightly honors, privileges, and duties.

Tonks couldn't believe what she was reading. From all of her years at Hogwarts, paging through books and scrolls of Historical Magic, the Cryptic Delphian were only seen as myth and legend. Even ghostly Professor Binns had said so, and he was notorious for believing in only cold hard fact.

She returned her gaze to Snape. "This is some sort of sick joke, isn't it?" she asked, misgiving in her voice.

"Far from," Snape replied walking back over to the chair picking up one of her pistols from the belt. "And when have I been known to play jokes?"

She thought a slight moment. "Touché ." She looked over the scroll again. "This is totally serious? For real?"

Severus tossed her wand back on her bed and instead began to examine the pistol he was currently holding. "Come to my Manor tomorrow and find out for yourself. And to make sure you do come this time, I'm taking these. You'll get them back in the morning." He took the belt and strapped it on behind his back, placing the one gun he was holding in its place under the back of his robes.

Tonks, however, barely noticed. She had turned away from him once again. She was bent more towards the light, rereading the scroll, now she was more awake and alert about everything around her.

"Did you hear what I said, Nymphadora Tonks?"

"Yeah, yeah," she replied, mirroring his sarcasm back at him. "Grand Delphian, want me to join, see you tomorrow. Got it." She reread the scroll a good three times, wondering if there was some kind of charm she could use to see if the scroll was genuine. But since it was a very new and foreign object, she decided against it. Instead, she began to scratch the ink with her fingernail. To no avail, she began to examine the great seal that accompanied the message, that was of a grand crescent moon with a sword cutting through it's center. It certainly looked legitimate.

"Severus," she spoke softly. "You said this was a kind of job for me?"

Silence.

"Severus?"

She turned around and found he had vanished completely, silently, her pistols in tow. Instantly, she leapt from her bed and ran to her window. Noting stirred below in the streets, nor did anything look out of the common in the sky. Turning on her heel, she scrambled to the door and flung it open. Snape was nowhere to be seen. But how had he disaparated so silently?

"Where the hell did you go?" Tonks whispered to herself.

"Where the hell did who go?" Fred's voice came from down the hall. She looked up to find him wide awake and getting ready to head down the stairs. "Wotcher Tonks? You alright?"

"Ummm…stupid question," she replied to him, going kind of uneasy, "But you didn't happen to see Severus Snape leave the house about two minutes ago did you?"

Fred merely stared in her in slight bewilderment. "No…can't say I have." He raised an eyebrow. "Are you feverish? Nightmare?"

Shaking herself, she quickly replied, "You're right, it must have been a nightmare."

"Always is when you have dreams with Snape in them."

Tonks chuckles very fake-ly for the moment, knowing that what had happened had not been a dream of any kind. Instead she asked, changing the subject quickly, "Why are you up anyways?"

"Insomnia," Fred groaned, rubbing his eyes. "Bugger it all, I haven't slept in three days." He caught her eye again. "You sure you're alright? You're free to join me for tea downstairs if you want. I don't think I'll be getting back to sleep very quickly."

"No," she replied instantly. "I think I'll just head back to bed."

"Well, no more Snape nightmares now," Fred replied, and Tonks quietly shut the door. Laying back down in her bed, she picked up the scroll again. After rereading it a final time, she placed it and her wand back on her nightstand and turned her lamp off. As much as she tried, by no means was she about to fall back asleep. She would've been better off rising and drinking tea in the kitchen with Fred.

Notes from the Hippy Gypsy: Chapter 4 is complete! Bwahaha! And it's beginning to come along. But don't expect chapter 5 for a few days. Like chapter 3, it's got some big details that need to be worked out. Anyways, please read and review! Peace out home dawgs! [big smiles]


	5. An Encounter in London

The Cryptic Delphian

By the Hippy Gypsy

Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns it all. I just fuck with it.

On that note, I would like to state that my language is going to get rather intense and…well, bad hereafter this chapter. Let's just say that Tonks and Severus don't have good communication skills, and they need to wash their mouths out with soap. I'm keeping it at PG-13 for the moment, but if you feel I should change the rating to R, just let me know and I will do just that. There may be a situation coming up in the plot where I have to change it anyways, but we shall see when I get there. Anyways, feedback is always appreciated! Thanks!

Chapter 5: An Encounter in London

Severus left Tonks to ponder her thoughts until they would meet again, preferably much later in the day, after he had slept a good share and she was out of her first initial state of shock. He appeared in the deep, darkened streets of central London in the wee hours of the a.m., knowing he had one more meeting before he could return to the comforts of his own manor. He would meet Minerva in the alleyway, the one near the bridge, and relay the events of his meeting with Tonks.

He stood in one of the dark alleyways, the ones he knew as well as the markings of his Death Eater tattoo. Nothing surprised or phased him in its crevices. Severus simply waited patiently for Minerva to show. He paced the spot, letting himself blend in the dark, with only his pale skin being a tell-tale sign of his presence.

Someone…or something…had noticed, however.

In a quick instant, Severus heard the slightest of movements, and he was dead sure they were not his own. He stopped in place and whipped around, but with his naked eye, he noticed nothing out of the ordinary in the night. "Minerva?" he called out deeply, misgiving in his voice.

He had no time for reaction as he was blindly hit from the left side of his face and knocked to the ground.

He had barely hit the floor of the alley when he leapt back to his feet and balled his fists, readying himself for the fight that was sure to ensue. Above him, he heard footsteps and a multitude of scratching, as if whatever had knocked him over could walk on walls.

"Show yourself!" he bellowed to the sky.

Whatever it was gave a great hiss above in reply. He only had enough time to think _what the hell _before the thing leapt from the wall, knocked him over again, and this time, pinned him to the ground.

More hissing filled the air, the breath of the shadow overtaking him, but before it struck him, going in for the kill, Severus managed to free his one arm from the thing's grip. He had his wand out in with a great sweep and shouted, _"Lumos maximus!"_

The end of the wand burst into light, illuminating the last visage Severus thought he'd ever see in the rest of his lifetime.

Lucius Malfoy.

He seemed transformed from the last time he had seen him. Lucius had been bloody and broken, on the brink of death, in the final battle of dark versus light. And Severus had left him to crawl away and bleed to death in peace.

At least he thought.

Lucius was not as he seemed now. His blond hair was wild and nearly turned white, as had his eyes. Great wrinkles of time had taken their toll on his eyes, but his most unnatural feature became prominent as he shot back away from Severus, covering his eyes from the wands light. Great fangs of teeth protruded from his mouth in another great hiss. Severus could tell what this meant. He recognized all of the signs, but he refused to believe it.

As Lucius backed away, Severus held his wand out in defiance, but slowly, the light of the wand lowered. He rose to his feet in great caution. As he did, Lucius relaxed and flung his arms down and hissed, "_Traitorrrr_…"

Severus merely shook his head in disbelief. "Holy fuck," he breathed.

In one swift move, Lucius leapt against the wall of the alley and forced Severus to the ground again, this time taking his wand with him. It was knocked across the floor of the dirty alleyway and out of Severus' reach. He was up again in a moment, but remembering his other weapons, he gropped from under the back of his cloak, and pulled out one of Tonks' silver guns. Lucius came to a great halt in front of the opposite wall of the alley and he watched as Severus took careful aim with the pistol, surprise in his eyes. Even though he was not a Muggle, Severus certainly knew how to shoot.

He pulled the trigger…and nothing happened, Tonks' charm holding the guns in their inoperable state.

He tried again, but when no shot rang out, he mumbled, "Fuck…"

Lucius, eyes were wide with anticipation, quickly changed characteristics and a great grin broke over his face, knowing Severus was unarmed. But instead of attacking again, he leapt in the air behind him.

The tip of the pistol Severus was holding followed Lucius as he quickly and agilely climbed the wall to the top, and disappeared over the edge. He did not show himself at all.

"No fucking way," Severus moaned to himself the whole time.

Once he knew there was nothing else to be had by the situation, he scrambled for his wand, then apparated in Hogsmeade, sprinting for Hogwarts, hoping against hope he would catch Minerva before she left to meet up with him. There were certainly new developments to the situation.

Notes from the Hippy Gypsy: Yes, I know this chapter is short, but I thought of it and I knew I had to include it. But Lucius joins the cast in my twisted tale of horror, suspense, and drama! Bwahahaha! But read on! Catch you all later!


End file.
